Volkswagen Golf 2015 News

A number of potentially hazardous faults have been identified in vehicles sold in Australia, prompting a wide range of recalls.

Audi and Volkswagen have issued three safety recall notices involving 582,822 vehicles sold exclusively in the United States.

Another 35,000 vehicles have been added to Volkswagen Australia's diesel emissions recall list.

Australian new car market roars to new sales heights, but post-election blues may put brakes on in back half of 2016

We're hungry for imports - SUVs above all - and cool on big sedans.

US owners of VW cars with diesel engines that can cheat emissions tests have already been given $500, but local owners still have no compensation.

Three weeks after the global scandal broke, Australian owners of VW diesel cars finally know if their car is affected or not.

There are now more than 11 million Volkswagen diesel cars -- and possibly 50,000 in Australia -- caught up in the software cheat that secretly tricked emissions testing equipment.

Australians are continuing to gorge themselves on new cars, taking advantage of low interest rates before currency pressures force prices to rise later in the year.

The Hyundai i30 shot to the top of the sales charts last month, recording 5500 sales as people snapped up the $19,990 drive-away deal for the Korean hatchback.The sticker price, which was roughly $7000 off the full retail ask, worked because it made life simple for buyers and Hyundai dealers alike.No need to haggle, no worrying whether other buyers got a better deal, just choose a colour and sign on the dotted line. No doubt the five-year warranty and rear-view camera sealed many a deal as well.The same applies to the Volkswagen Golf, which came within a whisker of bumping the once-mighty Holden Commodore into eighth place on the sales charts. The simple and attractive $24,990 drive-away deal helped sell 2680 examples.Ditto the Mitsubishi Triton, which is the third most popular vehicle with private buyers this year, largely because of a cheap — and transparent — $29,990 drive-away deal.Overall, the car industry remains on course for another record yearPerhaps other brands need to take a leaf from Hyundai's book rather than hide their margins by inviting customers to "do a deal" or take advantage of complicated low-interest loans.For example, Nissan was offering "extra value" on some models but no headline drive-away deals — sales were down 17 per cent on last year.Overall, the car industry remains on course for another record year, driven mainly by low interest rates.Weekly repayments on a $20,000 car today can be as low as $387 a month — three years ago the same car cost about $486. You also pay much less interest on a five-year loan — $3200 today against more than $9000 three years ago.Alternatively, you could buy a $25,000 car now with the same repayments as a $20,000 car three years ago.